This invention relates generally to arrangements for examining invalid patients, and more particularly, to an arrangement whereby a patient in a sitting position on a wheelchair is transferred to a prone position on an examination table.
It is well known in the medical arts that an immobile, invalid patient is more difficult to transfer between a wheelchair and an examination table, than a patient who can provide even modest assistance. Such disabled patients include victims of injuries, disabling diseases, and the aged. Of course, these difficulties are particularly acute in the handling of large and obese patients. Ordinarily, several nurses or assistants are required to assist in the transference of an invalid patient so that torsion and stress to the patient's body are minimized.
Of course, once the patient has been deposited on the examination table, the arrangement of the patient into desired positions is facilitated by a variety of well-known mechanisms, including segmented examination tables wherein each segment is individually adjustable and powered. One such examination table is described in U.S. Pat. No. 3,281,141 to Smiley, et al. The examination table described in this reference is of the surgical type and is provided with a plurality of segments and a control panel which permits an operator to arrange the individual segments into a desired configuration which facilitates the examination, or surgery. A further such table is described in U.S. Pat. No. 3,113,770 to Rutledge. The examination table described in this reference is of the type used in chiropractic practice and, therefore, can be tilted in its entirety so as to permit the patient to be placed in a generally standing position, or in an upside down position for increasing circulation, and then lowered into a horizontal position. Such a tilting table, however, does not provide a solution to the problem of initially depositing an invalid patient onto the examination table.
One advantageous mechanism for transferring a patient to and from a horizontal structure, such as an examination table or a bed, is described in U.S. Pat. No. 3,041,636 to Twedt. The arrangement described in this reference permits an operator to transport a patient who is already sitting at the edge of the horizontal structure. This arrangement, however, relies upon the manual lifting of the patient onto the sitting position and the manual lifting of the patient to the transporting device by the application of a force thereto. Clearly, if the patient is an invalid or otherwise incapable of maintaining himself seated upright, at least one other assistant will be required to assist in the transference.
It is, therefore, an object of this invention to provide an arrangement whereby a patient can be transferred by only one person, irrespective of the size or weight of the patient.
It is also an object of this invention to provide an arrangement for transferring a patient onto an examination table in a face-down position without requiring that the patient be turned over manually.
It is yet a further object of this invention to provide an arrangement whereby a patient can be transferred from a sitting position to a prone position over an extended period of time.